Wikipedia:Peer review/Subterranean Homesick Blues/archive1

Subterranean Homesick Blues[edit]

I am hoping some improvements can be made to the introduction as it seems somewhat clunky. Also looking for general suggestions about the article to improve it (I am hoping it will become "feature" quality in the not too distant future. Datapharmer 04:22, 9 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

In many ways, this is the best single-song article I've seen on wikipedia. Here are some suggestions:

Section headings are not helping right now. Perhaps you can think of better ones? Choosing good headings will make expanding the article much easier.
In general, you don't need to write "(Source: [source])", you can just put the URL in brackets to generate a numbered "footnote-like" link [1]. There are more evolved and complicated things to do with superscripts, read up on it if you like (I can't be bothered, honestly, with that superscript stuff.)
This may be too fan-boy, but a more extended coverage of the lyrics would be wonderful I think, or at least a rough list of political hot-topics the song covers (bussing, etc., etc.)
What was the immediate critical reception of the song? Any reviews of the album that specifically mention it? Right now, there's no mention of contemporary responses. (This is probably the biggest thing missing from the article so far.)
Good luck and well done so far.

Sdedeo 22:06, 9 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Sdedeo, thanks for your suggestions. I just recently added the references section, so I agree that the "source:" notes aren't necessary and I will do something along the lines of your suggestion shorty. I will look at the section headings a little more carefully, as I haven't really thought about them too much (many were added by other people). Any suggestions for replacements or changes to the headings are welcomed. As for the lyrics, I will try and get in contact with a representative of Dylan to get permission to reproduce the lyrics, and I like the idea about linking the political issues but my knowledge of the references is somewhat limited in this area. As for contemporary responses, I don't know exactly what you mean. There is a section about the influence the song has had on other groups (including modern ones). Should this be separated between contemporary and original or are you talking about something else entirely? Thanks again for the suggestions, and I look forward to getting some other responses as well!

Datapharmer 23:54, 9 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, right, forgot about copyright issues re: lyrics. I wouldn't bother getting permission, though! Probably a long amount of work.

Re: contemporary responses, I just mean, what were people saying about the song in 1965? 1968? I did a quick lexis-nexis search of the New York Times, but couldn't find a review of the album. One of the first mentions of the song is in an article about the Weathermen, actually, and another says the song (along with "Like a Rolling Stone") "introduced 'folk-rock'" (that's at 27 Aug 1965; New York Times, page 17.) I was sort of imagining a greater response, however, so perhaps that's enough.

Also, re: section headings. If you expand the article significantly, definitely think about altering the section headings (that's the biggest mistake I see happening -- people think of them as set in stone, and choices made at the start are often not the best), but if the article stays about the same size, I think they're fine. Oh, also there was a book recently about Dylan's lyrics (forget the author -- some poetry critic.) You might want to check in there for more ideas.

Best of luck! Sdedeo 00:51, 10 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed that it needs more reviews -- I'll look through some of my books and see if I can find anything. A screenshot from the video would be nice too. Tuf-Kat 20:05, September 10, 2005 (UTC)

Yes, I have been looking for an online version of the video to link to, but so far I have not had any luck. Yahoo music had the video for a while, but it is no longer listed. If I can't find it soon I will try to get a screen shot. Are there any legal issues with this I should be aware of? I will also look into finding some reviews.

Datapharmer 21:44, 10 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

A screenshot of the video qualifies as fair use, so there's no legal problems to worry about. Tuf-Kat 22:39, September 10, 2005 (UTC)

There has been some major work done to this article over the last 24 hours to incorporate the recommendations received thus far. Sdedeo updated the Section Titles and the introduction, which is a great improvement in my opinion, and I have added quite a bit as well including a link to a video clip, a screen shot of the video, and the album cover of the original release. I also added some factual information and sources and improved the citations. If anyone is willing to take the time to glance at the changes it would be much appreciated.

Datapharmer 04:54, 11 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Also, I am looking to add reviews of the song to the article as suggested. If anyone has any sources, feel free to contribute or direct me to the source if you do not ahve time. Thanks!

Datapharmer 04:56, 11 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]